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Ol'
Dark Schneider:
BASTARD!! #1
By Kazushi Hagiwara
Viz Manga Review by: Troy
Brownfield
More info at: http://www.viz.com
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You've gotta love that name. It now gives me an excuse to
go into a comics shop, wait for the clerk to ask me what I
want, scream "Bastard!!" in reply, and still get
waited on. Actually, the title is a pun that refers to both
to the main character and that old D&D standby, the bastard
sword; it's also evocative of the fact that the whole book
in seeped in humor of a most heavy-metal/hack'n'slash variety.
As if you couldn't guess from the title, this is definitely
a mature readers affair. Hot chicks, large violence and sex
are the order of the day. As a bonus, the issues also feature
columns with metal CD reviews and RPG reviews, things that
heavily interest writer/artist Hagiwara.
The story itself is pretty basic. We follow heroine Tia Noto,
fourteen year-old daughter of her medieval kingdom's high
priest. In line to be a priest herself, Tia was raised alongside
young innocent Lucien, whom her father adopted after a war.
When the kingdom lands in grave danger, Tia must give her
"purest virgin" kiss to Lucien to release the trapped
presence of Dark Schneider, a warrior-magician who's not much
better than the bad guys. Of course, Tia finds herself with
a case of the screaming thigh-sweats for the anti-hero, but
her kiss will turn him back into Lucien every time. (That's
called conflict, kiddies).
One obvious positive to the story is Hagiwara's art. It's
very impressive, and he has the intricacies of his sword-and-sorcery
genre down. While some of this is obviously intended as parody,
he brings some serious intensity to the fight scenes.
I'd recommend Bastard!! to long-time manga fans and S&S
enthusiasts. It's a fun book with great art. There's also
an anime available, and that's worth your time as well.
Troy
Brownfield is the Editor-in-Chief of Shotgun Reviews. He can't
wait for there to be a title called "Son of a Bitch".
Email Troy at psikotyk@aol.com.
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